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Myelin encephalitogenic protein fragments in cerebrospinal fluid of persons with multiple sclerosis

Research and Neurology Services, Memphis Veterans Hospital and Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences, Memphis, TN 38104.

With a double-antibody radioimmunoassay performed on unconcentrated cerebrospinal fluid, eight of 14 patients in an acute phase of multiple sclerosis had levels of 3.4 to 15.4 ng per milliliter of the P1 fragment (residues 43–88) of myelin encephalitogenic protein. Encephalitogenic protein-P1 was found only in the acute phase and was present in six of seven persons in the first week of an exacerbation and absent in 29 multiple sclerosis patients who were stable or had a gradually progressive course. Six of 117 controls had detectable cerebrospinal fluid encephalitogenic protein-P1. Only in two of these, one with a recent cerebral infarction and one with diabetic nephropathy who was in coma, were the levels in the range encountered in patients in the acute phase of multiple sclerosis. Although not entirely specific for multiple sclerosis, the presence of material in the cerebrospinal fluid of multiple sclerosis patients cross-reacting with encephalitogenic protein-P1 appears to be a characteristic of acute exacerbations.

This research was conducted under Veterans Administration project No. 9351-03 and was also supported by grant 903-6-2 from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Dr. Whitaker is a Clinical Investigator of the Veterans Administration.

The number of amino acid residues is based on that of bovine EP.¹⁹ P1 is the first fraction eluted during ion exchange chromatography of pepsin-generated EP fragments.²²

Accepted for publication October, 1976.

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